Shy
by Circumloquacious
Summary: It really wasn't his fault. How could it be after all? It's just the way he is. I saw that there weren't enough Hinakawa/Tsunemori fics so I wrote this. Nobody dies AU.


Hi, this is my first fan fiction so I'm unsure how this works. Tell me if you liked it or hated it - either way is fine.

"Ugh," Sho groaned as he went through the previous day's events in his head. He would never groan in the presence of an inspector but now he was alone and really exhausted, despite having his regular hours of sleep.

 _Why must Shimotsuki never own up to her mistakes?_ Sho didn't hate her, he thought that she treated him as he ought to be treated but he also thought that he didn't deserve the blame for something she did. Treat him like a latent criminal? Sure, that's what he deserves anyway, but blame him for something he didn't do? That's a step too far.

He got out of his bed quickly and started to get ready. Sho had to wake up a bit earlier to get ready because enforcers weren't trusted with holographic equipment - even clothing. He thought that it was a bit bizarre that he wasn't allowed to have holographic equipment even though his knowledge about holograms was basically what qualified him to be an enforcer - not that he would ever voice this thought out loud.

His mind went on auto-pilot and before he even knew it himself he was ready for work. He went into his small kitchen and skipped breakfast, opting to just take his medication. He always felt much calmer after his medication. He still had 30 minutes before his shift started and decided to just get lost in his thoughts before then.

He remembered a saying that he read somewhere or another, 'The quietest people have the loudest minds,' and he knew that at least in his case it was true. Before long Sho's thoughts went in the direction they always did; to Akane. Not that Sho would ever call her Akane out loud, that would be disrespectful and too forward. He would always call her Onee-chan, not that he really thought of her as a big sister, but he had decided to call her that awhile ago in hopes that it would stop this feeling he had for her. It didn't work and he was stuck with this unrequited love.

It was a good thing that it was unrequited he always reminded himself whenever he was sad about that particular fact, after all she still has a life to live that she can't live with him. He glanced at his clock again, it was 5 minutes to go and he started walking to the elevator when he met Shuusei on the way up. Sho liked Shuusei, he could always fill in the conversation gaps and never seemed to mind that he didn't talk much.

Before he knew it he had arrived at the correct floor while Shuusei was still talking about something which Sho suspected had something to do with video games judging by the amount of times he would use words like 'XP' or 'blasted them.'

"So, what do ya think?" Shuusei said with a smile, glancing at him expectantly.

 _Oh no,_ Sho thought, _he wants my input._ Life really was cruel and he had no idea how to respond. He really hated being put into these situations.

"U-uh, I'm not s-sure," Sho muttered, hoping it'd be enough to please the other ginger.

"Oh. Well it is a difficult concept and it took me ages before I fully got it-"

Sho started to tune Shuusei out at this point as they were walking to their office. It was probably a bad idea seeing as he only just got out of a situation that raised from him not listening but he couldn't help it.

When they reached the office Sho was stopped by Akane smiling at him. He quickly took a deep breath of air and walked past her, careful not to react to the way she was looking at him. He knew that she was looking at him the way she looked at everyone but his brain had betrayed him and had partly convinced himself that she was looking at him differently than the others.

"Hinakawa, I need those holograms finished by the end of your shift," Akane reminded Sho as he went to go sit down at his desk.

 _Something's wrong with me,_ Sho thought to himself, _I still find her endearing and she's making me do work._ Instead of voicing these thoughts he simply nodded at the girl that was standing a few feet away.

A few hours later Sho stretched and checked the time which read 12:45PM. He sighed, figuring he'd wait until everyone else was out of the room before eating his usual lunch. However things did not go as planned when Akane dragged him by his arm to go get food at the cafeteria.

"Ah. O-onee-c-chan, w-what are you d-doing?" Sho spluttered, wondering why she was doing this and why he'd have to go to the cafeteria and see everyone. Everyone was always judging everyone and he was no exception. They'd judge his hair, the way he ate-

"You're eating lunch in the cafeteria today. Don't worry my treat." Akane said quietly, smiling gently at him.

 _Don't worry? She wants me to not worry?_ Sho had thought Akane was slightly off before but this changed everything. _Did she not see all the people looking at her and staring? There was every reason in the universe to worry._

While Sho was caught up in his thoughts he didn't notice Akane stop suddenly as they reached the elevator and this caused him to walk straight into her. Needless to say, his form was much larger than hers and resulted in Akane hitting the wall face first and Sho trying awkwardly to balance using his hands against the wall.

"S-sorry, I'm so sorry," Sho winced, quickly standing up and moving to assist Akane in recovering. Of course this happened to him, he had no idea what to do in this situation. _What if Akane never wanted to speak to him again?_ That would be good for him but just the thought of it made Sho's insides turn.

"It's fine," Akane said, smiling to assure the redhead. "My nose hurts-"

"Sorry."

"But I'm perfectly fine."

Sho glanced at her in disbelief. He didn't deserve this treatment, it was all his fault that it had happened to her and she was forgiving him way too easily.

"Besides, I'm the one who dragged you out in the first place. If anyone should be apologising, it's me."

No, she shouldn't be apologising. Not to him. It was just one of the things that he had grown to appreciate about her. He wouldn't advance but it was nice to have these feelings in his stomach. She deserved better than a wimp like him, maybe he could set her up with Shuusei, Shinya or Nobuchika... Once again, he'd never call them by their names outside his own head, it was too informal.

Thirty minutes later, they were finally seated and eating - even if both of their food was to small to be called a meal. Akane noticed that Sho was glancing back and forth almost paranoidly but decided against bringing it up. She knew he was already uncomfortable enough.

Sho was eating his lunch when Akane suddenly tapped the table, forcing his eyes to look up. As he did, he immediately regretted it as he saw a fire in her eyes which meant she had an idea.

"Look Hinakawa, I'll be frank, I know next to nothing about you-"

 _Then that's keep it that way,_ Sho thought nervously. The last thing he needed was for Akane was to know too much about him.

"-but I want to learn more."

 _No you don't, Akane. You really don't._

"So I've got an idea."

 _I knew it,_ Sho thought. _This isn't going to end well._

"Everyday for 2 weeks I'll ask you a question that you have to answer as honestly as possible-"

 _This plan is horrible already._

"-and in return, I'll take you anyway you want to everyday for 2 weeks-"

 _It's not like I have anywhere I want to go to anyway._

"-you can ask me questions as well-"

Sho was curious but he wasn't _that_ curious.

"-and I'll pull some strings to get you more holograms."

This piqued Sho's interest. He wanted more holograms but was the price too big? He hoped not.

"H-how many holograms?" Sho asked tentatively and saw Akane smile at the sign that he was considering her deal.

"As many as I can convince them to let you have. I'd say at minimum 5 and at maximum 20."

He could have 20 holograms. He needed this deal and he nodded to Akane shyly to say he accepted.

"Great, we'll start tomorrow."

As Sho watched as Akane left he couldn't help but wonder what the hell he had just gotten himself into. Not only would he actually be forced to talk to Akane for more than a few sentences at a time but he would have to actually give her an insight into his mind. He worried about that, he didn't want her hue to get clouded because of him. She was a too good person to be tainted.


End file.
